Breakdown of Viltu ostabakkann, þá er ég til í að deila honum.
vera
to be
ég
I
þú
you
hann
he
að
to (infinitive marker)
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
vilja
to want (to will, be willing)
til
to
deila
to share
ostabakkinn
the cheese platter
þá
then
Questions & Answers about Viltu ostabakkann, þá er ég til í að deila honum.
How does the phrase vera til í work in this sentence?
Vera til í is an idiom meaning "to be up for" or "to be willing to." Because the thing you are willing to do here is an action, it is followed by að plus the infinitive verb deila (to share). If you were just up for a noun, like "a coffee", you would use the accusative case instead: ég er til í kaffi.
Why does the sentence start with the verb viltu (do you want) instead of using the word ef (if)?
Starting a sentence with a verb is a very common way in Icelandic to express a condition without actually using the word ef. It translates neatly to "Should you want..." or "If you want...". The word þá (then) in the second clause naturally completes this "if-then" structure.
Why is the pronoun at the end honum (dative) when it refers back to ostabakkann (accusative)?
A pronoun must take the case required by the verb it directly pairs with in its own clause, not the case the noun had earlier. While ostabakkann is in the accusative case because it is the object of vilja (to want), the verb deila (to share) strictly dictates a dative object. Therefore, the masculine pronoun hann must shift to the dative honum.
How exactly is the compound word ostabakkann put together?
It is built by joining osta, which is the genitive plural of ostur (meaning "of cheeses"), and bakkann, the accusative definite form of bakki (meaning "the tray" or "the platter"). Icelandic frequently uses the genitive case like this to glue nouns together into a single concept.
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